I think Facebook really could make a crap-ton in any number of ways, just from all the user data they have available for mining. Advertisers would (and already do) pay through the nose for that. I think ad revenue is generally an awful money source for a web app, but Facebook is big and addictive enough to command some crazy rates.<p>And that makes me scratch my head when they talk about "building the userbase" and "not focusing on revenue yet" Maybe I'm just short sighted, but I think it's time for FB to start cashing in. Just like anything else, it's best to launch your revenue model early and iterate, rather than waiting until the timing is perfect.
Reading an article [1] on Facebook and Google gave me some prospective on the value of these social networking sites outside of their own sites.<p>It mentioned Facebook's idea of using its knowledge of social graphs to power other sites to allow you to connect to friends through them. I'm guessing instead of having apps embedded in Facebook, Facebook would be embedded in the app. It's an interesting idea, which definitely brings a lot of value, but it still lacks a clear revenue stream.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-07/ff_facebookwall?currentPage=all" rel="nofollow">http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-07/ff_facebookwa...</a>
FTA: Yahoo's Carol Bartz doesn't have any interest in Facebook or Twitter either. No money in it, and Yahoo's building its own communities without having to spend huge premiums on unproven, unprofitable assets.<p>Such as Flickr, or Del.icio.us?